KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Receives $812.80 Average PT from Brokerages

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $812.80.

Several brokerages have recently commented on KLAC. Raymond James increased their price objective on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $730.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total transaction of $1,702,815.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other KLA news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total transaction of $1,702,815.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at $6,063,876.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 77.3% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of KLA by 2,033.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 64 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $770.34 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $769.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $756.05. KLA has a 1-year low of $440.15 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.15 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.40 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that KLA will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

About KLA

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB, Display and Component Inspection.